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Thursday, June 22, 2017

The Great, Big, Bad, Oil Bear is BACK!

WTI and Brent oil prices both fell more than 20% from their highs, officially entering bear market territory as crude prices continue to languish. WTI prices fell below $43/barrel despite some support in the currencies markets. Saudi Arabia has previous defended oil prices in the low $40 range.

Of paramount concern to investors these days is the rate at which US production has begun to rise, and whether or not OPEC can hold together its production cap in the face of potentially losing marketshare to North America. OPEC is currently dealing with difficulties from Libya and Nigeria

In-depth article on oil markets today. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-21/oil-holds-losses-in-bear-market-as-u-s-output-extends-advance

Unfortunately for investors, this is now the third time that oil has sold off a few months after appearing to have bottomed. Should OPEC hold output caps while maintaining cohesion among cartel members, then crude prices may not have that much more room to fall. But hey, who knows? The uncertainty is causing some investors to rethink and redesign their portfolios to avoid pitfalls from the energy sector.

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Hurricane Cindy, in the meantime, is responsible for the shutdown of about 17% of crude production in the Texas / Gulf of Mexico region.